Konoha: Starting with Sage Mode.

Chapter 87 Clouds in the Mountains

"Kato is indeed a shrewd businessman, but the war between Konoha and Amegakure has only just ended, and the situation in the Land of Rain is not yet stable. Moreover, Amegakure is currently quite xenophobic, making it difficult for foreign businessmen to do business there. Let him wait a while longer."

Upon hearing this, Kirito took the tea, thought for a moment, and replied.

The Land of Rain's geographical location is actually quite advantageous, bordering the three major ninja nations and several smaller countries. In peacetime, the Land of Rain could make a fortune by setting up checkpoints and collecting tolls.

Unfortunately, the Land of Fire, the Land of Earth, and the Land of Wind all coveted this benefit and did not want the Land of Rain to grow stronger. The Land of Rain itself was also unable to protect this benefit, leading to frequent wars.

Therefore, during times of war, it was very difficult for merchants to do business in the Land of Rain, and they could easily lose everything.

After all, banditry within the Land of Rain is still a very serious problem.

Kado's Higanbana Pharmaceutical Company is now thriving thanks to its high-quality products, the protection of Gojo Makoto, a noble descendant with a White Zetsu clone in the Land of Waves, and the Night Organization, coupled with his own shrewd business acumen.

The Higanbana Pharmaceutical Company is now Kirito's biggest source of income, serving as a crucial financial foundation for his large-scale biological experiments, research and development of new drugs, recruitment and training of talent, and funding for nighttime activities.

However, Gato's ambitions clearly extend beyond the small-scale operations in the Land of Waves, where he only does business with nearby coastal countries. He wants to expand the business of Higanbana Pharmaceutical Company throughout the entire ninja world and earn more money.

For him to achieve this, a pharmaceutical production base with an excellent geographical location is essential.

Clearly, he had his eye on the Land of Rain.

If nothing else goes wrong, once he establishes a large pharmaceutical production base in the Land of Rain, he can leverage the Land of Rain's advantageous geographical location to sell the products of the Other Shore Flower Pharmaceutical Company to any continental country, and greatly reduce transportation costs.

Kado has a great business sense, but unfortunately his political acumen is lacking. Given Amegakure's xenophobic nature, the chances of him successfully investing in and building a factory in the Land of Rain are extremely low.

If it were before, Kirito would have told Gato to give up on his idea without hesitation when he learned of it. But things are different now. Hattori Masanari, another alias of the White Zetsu clone, gave him hope that he could further expand the treasure trove that was Higanbana Pharmaceutical Company.

"Yes, I know. Besides Mr. Kado, Mr. Yun also sent a message saying that recently some goods belonging to merchants controlled by Konoha Root are going to be transported by sea. He asked if you should send someone to intercept these goods."

Ryoko Uzumaki noted down Kirito's instructions and then moved on to the next matter.

As she spoke, a look of eager anticipation appeared on her face, indicating that she would immediately apply to assist in the operation once Kirito agreed.

"It seems that the Root Group has been having a really tough time lately. They've already sent out the merchants controlled by their subordinates so quickly. I remember the last time they sent out goods was just a week ago."

Upon hearing this news, Kirito scoffed, then a hint of doubt appeared on his face.

Since the Night Organization got on the right track, he began to use it to deal with Danzo's Root organization, suppressing and weakening it.

The Night Organization is behind all the assassinations of high-ranking nobles from the Land of Fire who trade with Root, as well as the raids on goods belonging to Root's merchants at sea.

So far, the results have been astonishing. After losing its source of income, serious problems have arisen within the Root organization. Danzo is too preoccupied with his own problems to deal with Danzo.

As for Mr. Yun that Ryoko just mentioned, he is none other than Yamanaka Kumo, an elite Jonin of the Yamanaka clan who defected from Konoha two months ago.

This elite Jonin of the Yamanaka clan is now an important member of the Night Organization, codenamed Cloud.

How did Kirito manage to win over Yamanaka Kumo?

It's actually quite simple. He just secretly delivered one of his fiancée's belongings and a letter to the photo frame in the bedroom of Shan Zhongyun's house.

The letter contained very simple information: the location of his fiancée's burial place.

How did Kirito know the burial place of these mountain cloud fiancées?

This was all thanks to Aburame Ryoma, Danzo's right-hand man, who learned of this matter after reading Ryoma's memories.

Those Root members who participated in destroying the Senju clan's barrier were secretly executed within the Senju clan's territory, and Kirito naturally wouldn't let go of this opportunity to obtain a lot of Root information.

He used the Spirit Transformation Technique to bind the souls of all the deceased Root members, and then read their memories one by one, thereby learning about the many dirty deeds and ninjutsu that Danzo and Root had done.

Danzo thought he had completely covered up the truth, but in reality he had not succeeded in burying it completely. Aburame Ryoma had discovered this matter using parasitic insects back then.

Of course, he didn't do it on purpose.

He was only secretly sending parasitic insects to follow Danzo out of habit, and eventually learned about it by chance.

Ryoma Aburame was able to become Danzo's right-hand man, so his strength and emotional intelligence were certainly not low. He was not foolish enough to tell Danzo about this matter. Instead, he kept it as a secret in his heart and decided to take it to his grave.

But man proposes, God disposes, and the secret was eventually discovered by a third person.

Yamanaka Kumo's strength was undoubtedly formidable. With the clues given by Kirito, he quickly found an opportunity to sneak past the ANBU's surveillance and secretly go to his fiancée's burial site. He then successfully found his fiancée's remains and used them to uncover part of the truth from back then. Combining this with some clues he had found over the years, he finally deduced that his enemy was Danzo.

Yamanaka Kumo has been a member of Root for some years, so he naturally understands Danzo and Root's style of doing things. Using enemies who are unaware of the truth to do things for him is just normal practice.

Although he was shocked by the truth, he was not too surprised and became even more convinced that his deduction was correct.

Later, Kirito secretly met with Yamanaka Kumo, who had become suspicious, using a White Zetsu clone. Through genjutsu, he showed Yamanaka Kumo the truth of what happened back then, successfully turning this elite Jonin of the Yamanaka clan against his own side and making him the vanguard against Danzo and Root.

The assassination of a high-ranking nobleman from the Land of Fire was Yamanaka Kumo's pledge of allegiance.

His purpose in joining Kirito's Night organization was simple: to kill Danzo himself in the future.

"Yes, you remember correctly."

Ryoko Uzumaki nodded in agreement upon hearing Kirito's words.

"There must be something fishy going on. Root has suffered so many losses at our hands, they can't keep taking the hits forever. Tell Yun that this time we can have Kirigakure scout ahead for us again. If anything unexpected happens, don't rush to attack. See who Root has sent, and then wait for me to act together. Let's play the long game and catch the big fish."

After thinking it over carefully, Kirito made a decision and said...

The Night Organization's foundation is still too weak. There are only two Jonin, him and Yamanaka Kumo, and about ten Chunin. Most of them are just small fry. These people can only bully Genin-level enemies when they team up, but they will only become a burden when facing Chunin or higher-level enemies.

"Yes, Master, I will convey your instructions immediately."

"That's what Uzumaki Ryoko said respectfully," she said, then bowed and left.

Meanwhile, in Konoha Village, an emergency high-level meeting was underway in the Hokage's office.

"Everyone, this is a plan that Tsunade recently sent to me. Please take a look. There's a new situation in Amegakure."

The Third Hokage handed three identical project proposals to the three Hokage advisors in front of him and spoke with great interest.

At the same time, in the clinic where Kirito himself was located at Konoha Hospital, he received a special patient.

It's tough for a new author to get ahead, so I hope all my fellow readers will visit often to increase the readership. After you finish reading, I hope you'll vote for this book and invest in it. If you could give me some monthly tickets and rewards, I would be extremely grateful. It's so hard for a new author and a new book.

(End of this chapter)